Running out of Time
by Preppy Princess 5103
Summary: While Brennan awaits news on Booth; she realizes they no longer have the luxury of wasting time. Post-ep for 'Wannabe in the Weeds'... decided to make this a two parter!
1. Chapter 1

Spoilers for "Wannabe in the Weeds"

_Spoilers for "Wannabe in the Weeds"_

_I have wanted to write a Bones fic pretty much forever, but after last night's episode, how could I not? _

_I own nothing…_

The heels of her black shoes clicked furiously on the tiled floor as she ran to keep up with the stretcher. She was forced to come to an abrupt stop when a doctor held his hand out to stop her from following them into the emergency room.

"You can't come in there, ma'am."

"I'm his partner, Temperance Brennan." She said. The tremble in her own voice shocked her. "I need to be with him."

The elderly doctor softened. "I understand, but right now there is nothing you can do for him." He looked her over and smiled softly. "Can you contact the next of kin please? We're going to need to perform surgery and will need proper authorization."

"I have medical power of attorney."

"Alright." He handed her a clipboard, with a substantial stack of papers. "These are just the standard forms and waivers. Fill these out; give them to the nurse, along with your ID so we can verify the power of attorney. We're going to try and get him stabilized for surgery as quick as possible" He pulled a pen out of his pocket and handed it to her before disappearing through the doors.

She allowed herself to watch for a moment before sitting down to fill out the paperwork. A few minutes into the forms, she heard a commotion behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw her friends hurry into the waiting from and than turned her attention back to the forms.

Angela sat down next to her. "How you doing, sweetie?"

Brennan nodded, not taking her eyes from the white papers. "I'm fine, Angela."

Angela looked at Jack and sighed. She than placed her hand on her friends back and rubbed gently. "Everything will be ok."

"You don't know that." Brennan said, her voice trembling.

"No, but I have faith." Angela continued her soothing ministrations and watched as Brennan filled in 'Parker Booth' as his descendant. "Have you called Rebecca yet?"

She looked up in surprise. "No, I ah- I forgot."

"We'll take care of it." Angela moved her hand to cover her friends and squeezed slightly. "I'll be right back."

* * *

Hodgins had tracked down Rebecca's number and he and Angela sat on a sofa in a separate part of the waiting room. The phone rang twice before a groggy, masculine voice answered.

"May I speak to Rebecca Stinson please?"

With a grunt, the man nudged his bedmate and handed her the phone. "Hello?"

"Rebecca?"

"Yes?"

"This is Jack Hodgins; I work with Dr. Brennan at the Jeffersonian."

She sat up, clutching the sheet to her breast. Fear pooled in her belly and she took a deep breath. "What happened to Seeley?"

"He was shot this evening. They've taken him to Inova Alexandria Hospital, on Seminary Road."

Rebecca was getting out of bed and sliding into underwear and jeans. "Thank you, Dr. Hodgins. I'll be there as soon as I can." She hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed.

"What's going on," Brent asked.

"Seeley was shot. I have to get to the hospital." She had barely gotten the words out when she noticed Brent getting out of bed. "What are you doing?"

"Going with you." He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss. "I'll go get Parker up."

* * *

Everyone watched as Brennan paced back and forth across the waiting room floor.

"Bren, sweetie, please sit down."

"I can't." She looked towards the operating room they had wheeled him to. "I need to know that he's going to be ok."

"He's been hurt before." Angela reminded her.

Brennan stopped abruptly. "I know this. And it is always my fault. When he got blown up two years ago? My fault."

"Booth doesn't see it that way." Angela stopped talking as a nurse walked up to them.

"Miss Brennan?" Brennan nodded, "These are Mr. Booth's personal affects."

Brennan reached out with a shaky hand and took the plastic bag from her. "Thank you." Once the nurse had walked away, she sat down and opened the bag. She pulled out his ID case, stroking the badge before sitting it on her knees. The gold lighter he had been waving was among the items, as was his cell phone and wallet. She sat the other items aside and opened it up. Her eyes pooled with tears as she noticed a picture of her partner and his little boy. She flipped through the folded papers and gasped when she came across a newspaper picture of the two of them. The picture was old, taken in the beginning months of their partnership. She did not know when it had happened but he had entangled himself in her life so completely, she could no longer imagine a world without him in it.

"How is he?"

She turned and looked in the direction of the slightly familiar voice. Rebecca and Parker came hurrying into the waiting room and stopped at the sight of Brennan.

Tears pooled in Rebecca's eyes at the red stains that covered the anthropologist's clothes. "How is he?" She repeated.

"They took him into surgery a little bit ago. They haven't told us anything else though."

Rebecca noticed Brent stepping out of the elevator and looked at the sleepy little boy next to her. "Parker, I need you to go sit with daddy's friends and Brent while I talk to Dr. Brennan for a minute." Parker nodded and the two women watched as he walked over to Angela and Hodgins. "So what happened tonight?"

Brennan moved the bag of Booth's things to her lap so Rebecca could have a seat. "We were investigating this case and a woman involved with our victim became obsessed with Booth. We were at this karaoke bar and I was singing and this woman came in and called out his name. He turned and saw she had a gun." Brennan's voice started to crack as she remembered how he stood in front of her while Pam fired her gun. "She was going to kill me and Booth stood in the way."

Rebecca wrapped her arm around the other woman's shoulders. "What happened to her?"

"I killed her."

Rebecca nodded and they sat there in silence for a minute. "Seeley stepped in front of a crazy woman and a gun. For you."

She nodded. "Yeah, he did."

"When are the two of you going to stop with the whole 'we're just friends' nonsense? He steps in front of guns for you, you've killed more than once for him, and yet the two of you just keep dancing around one another." She looked up at the beautiful doctor and covered her hand with hers. "You two are constantly in the line of danger, and one of these days you're going to run out of chances."

* * *

While the wait was only a little less than two hours, it seemed like an eternity. Finally, a doctor Brennan recognized walked down the hallway and stopped in front of the tight knit group.

"Miss Brennan?"

She stood up and nodded. "How is he?"

"He's going to be fine. The bullet punctured his lung, but we were able to repair the damage and re-inflate the lung. He does have several broken ribs and some torn muscles, but everything will heal and he'll be fine."

She had tuned out everything he had said after he told them Booth would be fine. "May I see him?"

The doctor glanced at Parker and lowered his voice. "He doesn't look very good right now. It might be better to wait till the morning."

"Everyone else can wait," she argued, "but I need to see him now."

He sighed and relented. "Fine, follow me." She followed the doctor to a post-op recovery room and stepped in slowly. "Just for a couple of minutes, ok?"

Brennan nodded. "Thank you." She waited till he had gone and than took her place by his side. _Always by his side_. "Hey." She picked up one of his hands and twined their fingers together. "You need to wake up. There is a waiting room full of people who are really anxious to see you." She looked up at the monitors and was hypnotized by the steady beeping. "You also need to wake up because we need to have a talk. Things cannot stay the way they currently are. Neither of us have the luxury of time where we can keep denying what's between us. So, when you wake up, I'll be here and we'll have a talk we should have had a long time ago." She placed a gently kiss on his cool hand. "I'll be here, Booth. I'll always be here. I promise."

The End

Like I said my first "Bones" story. I hope it was ok, and either way, I would love some feedback!


	2. Chapter 2

_I still own nothing Bones related except for seasons 1 & 2 on DVD and a handful of season 3 episodes on iTunes._

_Thanks so much for your feedback on the last part. It meant a lot. _

"It's been two days Bren, you need a shower."

She turned her head and smiled slightly at her best friend. "Ange, I'm not leaving his side until he wakes up."

"When he wakes up and sees you, it might be easier on both of you if you're not still wearing clothes that are covered in his blood." She picked up a small tote bag and handed it to her. "The nurse said you could use the on call room showers. Go take a quick shower. I'll sit with Booth until you get back."

Brennan took a last look at the monitors surrounding her partner and reluctantly stood. "If anything happens before I get back, please have someone come get me."

Angela nodded, "Of course sweetie." She took her friend's vacant seat and watched her walk quickly to the on call room. With a sigh, she turned back to Booth and picked up his hand. "Okay, Booth. You have to wake up. I am not giving you an option here. The doctors say there is nothing medically keeping you unconscious, so you need to open those big brown eyes my best friend is so crazy about. And I know she's crazy about you, even if she refuses to admit it." The monitors continued their steady beeping and she sighed and leaned back in the chair. Once he was awake, she would make it her main priority in life to have them admit what everyone else already knew. Forget about finding her husband or catching Gormagon, she refused to let her friend's waste anymore precious time.

* * *

Brennan took the fastest shower known to mankind. When she stepped out of the water, she realized that no one had come for her, so she took a little more time getting dressed. The jeans Angela had brought her were a little roomier than usual, caused by two days of minimal eating. She pulled the belt off of her stained jeans and threaded it through the loops. Her metabolism was naturally fast and she lost weight easily. Her body also showed any weight loss quickly. Once Booth was home, she would rectify her weight loss with homemade macaroni and cheese and the greasy diner food they both enjoyed so much. Digging through the bag, she found a white camisole and a loose fitting navy blue top she loved. After quickly drying her hair with the small hair dryer mounted on the wall, she hurried back to Booth's room.

Back at his room, she stopped in her tracks at the site before her. Rebecca had joined Angela, and Parker was sitting on the side of her partner's bed.

"Any changes?" All three heads turned in her direction and the two women sadly shook their heads. Without a word, Angela stood and stepped to the side and let Brennan have her seat back.

"My daddy looks better today doesn't he, Dr Bones?"

Brennan nodded and offered the young boy a slight smile. "He sure does, Parker."

"When's daddy going to wake up?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I hope it's soon."

"I hope it is too." Parker turned his attention back to his father. Brennan could not tear her eyes away from the two of them and Angela and Rebecca shared a look over her head.

"Bren, we're going to step outside for a second… give you guys some time alone." Angela said. They waited for her to nod her acknowledgement and they stepped out into the hallway. Once they were out of listening range Angela sighed and dropped her head into her hands. "I've known her for a long time and I've never seen her like this."

Rebecca shook her head. "I can't believe this happened. It just still seems unreal to me."

"Unfortunately it's very real. Yesterday when the police were by to take our statements it became blatantly obvious how real it is."

"Is she in any trouble for killing Pam?"

Angela shook her head. "No, she'll be fine. They have a roomful of witnesses that saw Pam shoot Booth and than saw her aim her gun again at Bren. It was self defense, pure and simple."

Rebecca pulled her legs up into the chair and looked back in the direction of the room. "So what do you think they'll do when he wakes up?"

Angela rolled her eyes and sighed. "I hope to God they realize what's been right in front of them all this time."

* * *

Several hours later Angela, Rebecca and Parker had gone home for the evening and Brennan was left alone by his bedside. She picked up his hand timidly and sighed. "Come on, Booth. It has been two days. You have to wake up." She twined her fingers with his and lay her head on their joined hands.

She was nearly asleep when she felt a twitch beneath her head. She jerked up and her eyes pooled with moisture for the umpteenth time during this ordeal. "Booth." He flexed his fingers and then tightened them back around hers. "I'm going to go get a doctor, I'll be right back."

Brennan hesitantly pulled her fingers from his and stuck her head out into the hallway. "I need a doctor!" She was back in the room as soon as she noticed a doctor heading their way. Reluctantly, she stepped aside and let the doctor examine him.

The doctor took off his stethoscope and smiled. "You seem to be doing very well, Mr. Booth." He leaned over and adjusted a control on the monitor. "Are you feeling any pain, other than the obvious, of course?" He watched as Booth shook his head. "Good. Very good. Well, Mr. Booth you are doing well. Blood pressure is good, heart rate is stable. I think just another few days of observation and we'll be able to release you." He gathered his charts and glanced at Brennan. "I'll leave you two alone. Just buzz the nurse's station if you need anything. I'll be back to check on you in a little bit."

Once the doctor had left, Brennan stepped over the door and gently pushed it shut and then moved to reclaim her place next to his bed. "Are you really feeling okay?"

Booth nodded and reached for the water pitcher. She placed her hand on his arm, stilling his movement. After filling the water cup midway, she handed it to him and waited for him to hand it back to her. Once the cup was back on the nightstand, she leaned back in her chair and studied him.

"What?" He asked his voice raspy.

"You shouldn't have done that."

His eyes widened and he attempted to sit up. "Bones, she had a gun. She was going to kill you."

She placed her hand on his chest and pushed him back gently against the bed. "And my life is more valuable than yours?"

"It's my job to protect you." He could not tear his eyes off of her. All he could think about was how beautiful she looked on that stage and how terrified he was when he saw Pam with that gun. "I couldn't let her hurt you because she thought her and I should be together."

Her eyes finally overflowed. "Booth, if you had died…"

He tightened his grip on her hand. "I didn't though. I'm right here and we're both ok." He shifted and pulled her closer to him. "Temperance. We're both okay."

"I know." She moved from her chair to the edge of his bed. "I'm not a very emotional person, Booth. And I do not express my feelings very well. But, I have never been as scared as I was when you were laying on the ground and your blood was pushing through my fingers."

"I understand. I was terrified when you were buried alive."

Brennan nodded. "I know. I… Booth, I don't even know how to say this."

He untwined their fingers and moved his hand to cup her face. "Than I'll start. That line I drew last year… the line I said we could not cross… I want to cross it."

She nodded and covered his hand with hers. "I want that too. Booth, we are not going to keep getting chances. We have to start taking advantage of the chances we're given."

He slid his hand from her cheek to cup the back of her head and pulled her to him. "Last chance to change your mind."

She shook her head and lowered herself to him. She tentatively pressed her lips to his and within seconds, the kiss had deepened and when they parted, they were both breathless.

Booth smiled and twisted a strand of her hair around of his forefinger. "So was that like kissing your brother."

"Shut up, Booth." She said softly before their lips met in a gentle kiss.

the end... for real this time :)


End file.
